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Friday, November 20, 2009

Running

How sad is it that I went outside to run (even though I DESPISE running) and I couldn't even run ONE mile without stopping!?! What is wrong with me? I was 2/3rds of the way in and I got a stitch...an awful one; I tried to jog and it pretty much impaled me from even doing that. Therefore, I have decided that I will do my best to at least run one mile three times a week. If I can't run a mile now, I'm going to be able to soon! =)

While having coffee with a friend, I realized that I often compare my spiritual journey with that of physical exercise and nutrition. Once you get in the habit of doing something good...like running and reading scripture daily, life is good! But that ONE time you don't do it, the devil takes a hold of it and lets you know how good life is without it; e.g., without running, I have more time to do this or that, I needed to rest anyway, I'll pick it back up next week...next week never comes. And the same with reading God's Word. Eh, I'd rather sleep that extra 15 minutes, I'll do it later. I'll really try next week.

I hate to say it, because I do it too, but I think that's a slap in the face! Reading God's Word is something that makes us stronger, we grow in the Lord, He speaks to us during that time; how can I possibly say, "you know, Lord, I appreciate everything you did for me on the cross and I truly do want to meet with you today, but I'll hit the snooze a few more times." Yikes. I do that. All the time. I'm not willing to let the Lord speak to me through His Word.

In the same way, I'm not willing to run or get in shape. I want to. I see the need to do it. But I choose not to. I know the benefits of it, but I'd rather do what I want to do.

--The Lord uses His daily Word to speak to us. Maybe the Lord will speak to me while I'm running or working out. You never know, and I'm not going to put limits on the way the Lord moves.

I think I'm just tired of pushing away the things that I KNOW are beneficial for my everyday life. I'm saying all this so that other people know what I'm struggling with and know that I'm trying to fix it! =) I will read and I will run. It's gonna be good. I need physical and spiritual exercise: reading His Word and running allow me to get both of the things I need!